NASHVILLE (BP) -- When a white supremacist gunned down nine black worshipers at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, S.C., mission catalyst Bob Lawler knew he had to say something to the Baptist association he led in northern California.

So Lawler gathered the association's 48 ethnically diverse churches for a joint worship service. When he stood to preach, Lawler harkened to the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

"In the 'I Have a Dream' speech," Lawler recalled telling the Redwood Empire Baptist Association, "not only did [King] say, 'I have a dream. I have a dream.' He also said, 'with this faith'" repeatedly, "reminding us that it's not just a humanitarian effort" to effect racial reconciliation. "It's an effort based on the Gospel." Read More

In today's From the Seminaries: Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's Spurgeon College broadens its Fusion program in North American Mission Board partnership; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's Boyce College adds communications degree. Read More

MBTS President Jason Allen delivered the graduation address, challenging the graduates to be courageous in carrying out their ministry calling, speaking from the Daniel 3 account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's experience with Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace.

"The moral of this story is not that whenever you find yourself enduring a challenging ministry place or a culture bent on persecution, that you personally will be delivered," Allen said. "The story is that Christ, who shows up [in Daniel 3] in preincarnate fashion, will be there with you." Read More

In today's From the Seminaries: A Jan. 10 deadline has been set for NOBTS presidential nominations; NOBTS chosen for 3,000 microfilms of ancient manuscripts; MBTS' Spurgeon College to offer communications degree. Read More

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated a landmark in its history with the dedication of the new Mathena Student Center in conjunction with the fall trustee meeting Oct. 15-16 at the Kansas City, Mo., campus.

The meeting's highlights came on Tuesday in opening the 40,000-square-foot student center named for Harold and Patricia Mathena who provided a $7 million lead gift for the facility. Read More

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Through worshipful times of praise music and messages from God's Word, the For the Church National Conference, held at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, focused on reaffirming and recommitting to the glory given to and Great Commission aspects of the local church.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Hopefulness for the future of the Southern Baptist Convention in a season of denominational transition was voiced by Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, in a discussion Sept. 19 with Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Titled "The State of the SBC," the discussion during Midwestern's chapel hour focused on the many significant changes facing the denomination. Among these is the need to fill four entity leadership positions within the SBC and to address a generational transition as well. Read More

In today's From the Seminaries: Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Boyce College at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Midwestern opens semester with convocation, building dedication

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Fall convocation is a time of "consecrating ourselves anew for the task of ministry preparation," Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said in formally opening the new academic year Aug. 21 at the Kansas City, Mo., campus. Read More

From Southeastern in North Carolina to Gateway Seminary in Southern California, SBC seminaries are training students and faculty to recognize and deal with abuse, reemphasizing personal sexual morality and offering resources to those struggling with sexual sin.

Southeastern has "raised the flag and heightened the alert," Akin told Baptist Press, "given the cultural trends that we're now encountering, given the technological world in which we live" where moral failings often are widely publicized. Read More

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Longtime pastor and New Testament scholar Hershael York will become the new dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's school of theology, effective Aug. 1, succeeding Gregory A. Wills, who is completing a five-year term. Read More

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